Prayer, asking only to keep His feet
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
हें चि जतन करा दान । धरुनी चरण राहिलों तो॥1॥
आणीक कांहीं न घलीं भार । बहुत फार सांकडें ॥ध्रु.॥
घ्यावी माझ्या हातें सेवा । हे चि देवा विनवणी ॥2॥
तुका तुमचा ह्मणवी दास । तेणें आस पुरवावी ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Guard this one gift: I have grasped Your feet and remain there. Do not burden me with anything more; there is hardship enough already. Accept my service from my own hands; this alone is my prayer, O God. Says Tuka, I call myself Your servant; fulfill that aspiration.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Guard just this one gift: I have caught hold of Your feet and I stay here. Do not load me with anything more; the hardship is already too great. Take my service from my own hands; this alone is my plea, O God. Tuka says: I call myself Your servant; let that hope be fulfilled.
What it means
Tukaram prays for one thing and asks God not to add to it. The single gift he wants kept is the hold he already has on God's feet; he is not asking for more, only to keep what he has. He pleads against further burden, since his load is heavy enough, and asks that his offered service be accepted directly from his own hands. The closing turns his self-naming into a claim on God: he calls himself a servant, so let God honor that bond by granting the one hope.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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